PokerStars Brings Back Boot Camp Ahead of WCOOP 2025

PokerStars has officially confirmed the return of its Boot Camp warm-up series ahead of WCOOP 2025. Now in its second year, Boot Camp offers players multiple ways to qualify for the prestigious World Championship of Online Poker and prepares the ground for one of the biggest online poker festivals of the year.

The 2025 edition of WCOOP is set to run from September 7 to October 1, mirroring the dates of last year’s series and spanning a total of 24 days. While the full schedule is still under wraps, PokerStars is expected to release the complete lineup within the next few weeks.

The warm-up event, Boot Camp, runs from August 3 to 18, featuring a 134-tournament lineup with a total of $9 million in guaranteed prize pools. The series is split into two buy-in tiers — low and high — catering to a wide range of players.

• Low Main Event: $109 buy-in, $600,000 guaranteed
• High Main Event: $1,050 buy-in, $400,000 guaranteed
• Buy-ins range: $2.20 to $5,200
• Satellites start at: $1.10

A diverse mix of formats will be available, including 8-Game, HORSE, Razz, and Badugi, giving players the chance to prepare for WCOOP’s full tournament variety.

As in 2024, Boot Camp includes a partnership with BBZ Poker, known for its high-level training programs. Players will gain access to free coaching sessions via Discord on August 1, 8, and 15. These sessions will focus on WCOOP-specific strategies and formats.

Participants will also have the opportunity to win WCOOP tournament tickets through the training sessions.

In addition to the tournament schedule, PokerStars has unveiled two more ways for players to win entries into WCOOP events:

• Boot Camp Leaderboard: $60,000 in ticket prizes awarded to top-performing players.
• Ticket Machine Draws: $150,000 worth of WCOOP tickets distributed via two prize draws.
  Players must opt in via the Challenges window and complete two simple missions to enter.

Each draw will award $75,000 in WCOOP ticket value.

WCOOP remains one of the most anticipated series on the annual online poker calendar. As other major operators like GGPoker, 888poker, and PartyPoker prepare their own autumn offerings, PokerStars is once again setting the stage early with Boot Camp — a key opportunity for reactivation, preparation, and qualification.